STT: Quail Breasts with wild ferns

QUAIL BREASTS WITH WILD FERNS

Two Malaysian wild ferns, paku and midin, have in recent years made their appearances on restaurant menus. The shoots of these jungle ferns are crisp and fresh. Quail, though classified as game, is the daintiest of meats, pleasing in taste and colour. In combining the wild ferns with the game fowl, an exotic east-meets-west dish is created.

Ingredients

10 quail breasts

salt

ground black pepper

4 teaspoons cooking oil

20gm butter

2 shallots, chopped

80gm abalone mushrooms, sliced

100gm paku

100gm midin

50gm tomato, diced

1 teaspoon green peppercorns

raspberry vinegar

Method

1. Cut out the quail breasts. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and 10gm of butter. Pan-fry the quail breasts until medium rare.

3. Heat remaining cooking oil and butter and saute the shallots lightly. Add the mushrooms. ferns, tomato cubes and green peppercorns and fry for a few minutes. Sprinkle with raspberry vinegar. Remove from heat.

4. Place the ferns in the centre of plates with the quail breasts on top and pour sauce around.

QUAIL SAUCE

Quail bones

50gm onion, diced

20gm tomato, diced

50gm carrot, diced

30gm leek, diced

1&1/2 litres chicken stock

bay leaf

juniper berries

thyme

Method

1. Fry the quail bones in a hot pan until brown. Add the diced vegetables and fry further.

2. Add the chicken stock. Boil, skim and add herbs.

3. Cover and cook slowly for 2-3 hours until sauce is reduced to one-third.

4. Strain and keep warm.

STT: Smoked Duck Breast with orange salad

SMOKED DUCK BREAST WITH ORANGE SALAD

Smoking introduces flavour into the meat. The addition of crushed green peppercorns in the fuel for smoking imparts a sweet fragrant aroma to the duck. Orange segments complement the rich taste of duck in this salad. Serves 4.

Ingredients

2 duck breasts

A. 1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

4 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons port wine

2 teaspoons brandy

2 oranges, peeled and segmented

2 tablespoons lemon grass dressing

1 teaspoon green peppercorns

FOR SMOKING

1 bay leaf

10 juniper berries

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1 star anise

pandan leaves

lemon grass

1 clove

2 teaspoons black peppercorns

1 cup wood of chips or coarse sawdust (do not use chips from a resinous wood)

Method

1. Mix ingredients A together and rub over the duck breasts. Marinate for a day.

2. Burn the fuel and place in a smoking oven. Alternatively, place the burning fuel in an old wok and the duck on a rack and cover with a lid. Smoke for 10 minutes and allow to cool in the oven.

3. When cool, remove and slice thinly.

4. Arrange duck and orange with some leafy vegetables on a plate. Sprinkle with lemon grass dressing and green peppercorns.

LEMON GRASS DRESSING

1 stalk lemon grass, crushed

3 parts olive oil

1 part lemon juice

salt and pepper

STT: Sarikei Salad

SARIKEI SALAD
A sweet and piquant salad aptly named after the pepper and pineapple district of Sarikei in Sarawak. Serves 4.

Ingredients
500gm minced chicken
salt and pepper
cooking oil
100gm pineapple, cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
10gm ginger, cut into thin strips
1 red chilli, cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon green peppercorns
6 basil leaves, shredded

Method
1. Season minced chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pan and fry the minced chicken till cooked. Remove and set aside to cool.
3. Put chicken and all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
4. Serve chilled.

STT: Manok Panggang (Spicy Barbecued Chicken)

MANOK PANG-

GANG

(SPICY BARBE-

QUED CHICKEN)

In the language of the Ibans of Sarawak, manok is 'chicken' while panggang means 'to barbecue'. This is barbecued chicken - Sarawak style. Serves 4

Ingredients

350gm chicken meat

15gm ginger, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

10 red chillies, finely chopped

juice of 2 limes

ground black pepper

Method

1. Divide the chopped ginger, shallots and chillies into 2 equal portions. Mix one together and marinate chicken with it. Leave for one hour.

2. Shake off excess marinade and grill the chicken over charcoal.

3. Slice chicken and arrange on a bed of salad.

4. Sprinkle with lime juice, ground black pepper and the remaining half of ginger, shallots and chillies.

STT: Rojak with cuttlefish

ROJAK WITH CUTTLE

FISH

Rojak means a mixture of many different things. This popular Malaysian dish featuring an assortment of vegetables and specially prepared cuttlefish, is served with an exotic piquant black sauce. Serves 4.

Ingredients

200gm dried cuttlefish

30gm beansprouts, lightly blanched

70gm kangkong, blanched

50gm cucumber, cut into thick slices

30gm pickled peppercorns

50gm sweet turnip, cut into thick slices

40gm hako (black shrimp paste)

50gm palm sugar

4 teaspoons chilli paste

2 teaspoons tamarind juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground peanuts

1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon pepper oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

salt

Method

1. Soak dried cuttlefish in water with some sodium bicarbonate until soft.

2. Blanch, slice and arrange cuttlefish together with bean sprouts, kangkong, cucumber, pickled peppercorns and turnip.

3. Mix the rest of the ingredients into a sauce.

4. Serve the sauce separately.

STT: Acar Nyonya (Nyonya Vegetable Pickle)

ACAR NYONYA
Among the Nyonyas (Straits-born Chinese) who have assimilated Malay customs and way of life), the acar is the family's secret recipe, not to be divulged to anyone but the daughters. Needless to say, there are many ways of making acar. Here is an acar with a difference, with the inclusion of pickled green peppercorns giving it that extra bite.

Ingredients
Cooking oil
10gm belacan

A. 2 shallots, chopped
30gm ginger, cut into very thin strips
3 cloves of garlic, halved
2 tablespoons chilli paste
2 teaspoons turmeric powder

7 tablespoons vinegar

B. 300gm carrot, julienned
500 gm cucumber, seeded and julienned
100gm pickled green peppercorns
5 whole green chillies

C. 20gm sesame seeds, roasted
30gm mustard seeds, roasted
2 teaspoons salt
100gm sugar

Method
1. Heat cooking oil in a pan and fry belacan until fragrant.
2. Add ingredients A and fry together.
3. Pour in the vinegar and bring to a boil.
4. Put in ingredients B and stir for a minute.
5. Remove from heat and mix in ingredients C
6. Let the acar rest for a day and allow the flavours of the spices to seep into the vegetables before serving.

STT: Jellied Seafood Terrine

JELLIED SEAFOOD TERRINE
Terrines add a touch of style and elegance. They make a refreshing start to dinner. Here's a terrine of fish and prawns studded with red and green peppercorns. Serves 4.




Ingredients
30gm cucumber, julienned
30gm carrot, julienned
30gm leek, julienned
150gm salmon, diced
150gm medium sized prawns, shelled and diced
150gm red snapper, diced
350gm fish consomme
6 leaves gelatine
1 teaspoon green peppercorns
1 teaspoon red peppercorns
1 teaspoon chopped chives
1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped

Method
1. Blanch the cucumber, carrot and leek. Remove and dip in iced water to refresh. Drain.
2. Poach the seafood, remove and dry.
3. Soak gelatine leaves in cold water until soft. Heat the fish consomme and bring to boil. Dissolve the gelatine in it and strain through a fine cloth.
4. Place a terrine mould in a shallow tray of iced water.
5. Pour in a thin layer of fish consomme and allow it to set.
6. Add layers of each of fish, prawns, vegetables, peppercorns, egg and chives. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up, then top up with the rest of the fish consomme.
7. Place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to set.
8. Turn out and slice.

STT: Malaysian Vegetable Salad with peanut peppercorn sauce

MALAYSIAN VEGETABLE SALAD WITH PEANUT PEPPERCORN SAUCE This is the Malaysian version of the western-styled vegetable and cheese dip. Different kinds of vegetables are assembled and lightly blanched. The diners can take their pick from the selection, heaping them with the piquant peanut peppercorn sauce. Serves 4.

Ingredients
50gm kangkong (water spinach)
50gm tapioca leaves
50gm beansprouts
50gm sweet turnip, julienned
50gm cucumber, julienned
50gm carrot, julienned
50gm french beans, julienned
2 cakes of bean curd, fried and sliced
2 boiled eggs cut into 8 wedges

Method
1. Blanch vegetables separately. Remove and dip in iced water to refresh. Drain.
2. Arrange bean curd slices, egg wedges and vegetables on a platter.

PEANUT SAUCE
50gm peanuts, roasted
10gm white peppercorns
4 tablespoons cooking oil
50g tamarind paste
120ml water
5 dried chillies
20gm belacan (dried shrimp paste)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
50gm palm sugar
50 hako (black shrimp paste)
1 teaspoon red peppercorns

Method
1. Grind roasted peanuts together with white peppercorns and set aside.
2. Blend garlic, dried chillies and belacan with 20ml of water. Set aside.
3. Heat up 50ml of water and dissolve palm sugar. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and fry tamarind paste for one minute on a low heat. Add 50ml of water and cook for a while. Let it cool and stain.
5. Heat up the rest of the cooking oil and fry the chilli belacan mixture until fragrant. Add tamarind mixture, palm sugar water and hako and bring to boil.
6. Reduce heat and add peanut-peppercorn mixture and red peppercorns and simmer till the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.

STT: Marinated fish with peppercorns and lemon juice

MARINATED FISH WITH PEPPERCORNS AND LEMON JUICE
Like the prawn and umai, this marinated fish dish is served as an appetiser. Serves 4.

Ingredients
300gm fillet of fish (e.g. tapa, red snapper, sea bass or any white firm fish)
salt and ground white pepper
1 teaspoon green peppercorns, crushed
2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves
4 teaspoons olive oil
juice of 2 lemons

Method
1. Clean fish and remove skin. Place in the freezer until slightly frozen Remove and slice thinly.
2. On a tray, sprinkle some salt, ground white pepper and half of the green peppercorns, chopped coriander leaves, lemon juice and olive oil.
3. On top of that, spread a layer of fish slices. Make sure the slices do not overlap. Finally, sprinkle the remaining half of the ingredients on top.
4. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours.
5. Serve slightly chilled with salad.

STT: Prawn Avocado Cornets

PRAWN AVOCADO CORNETS
The creamy texture of avocado combines well with prawns and makes an unusual filling for the cornets. Serves 4.




Ingredients
12 spring roll skins
2 avocados
12 prawns, cooked and shelled
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and freshly ground white pepper
a few leaves of lettuce
50gm carrot, julienned
50gm cucumber, julienned
50gm tomato, julienned

Method
1. Peel the avocados and cut into 8 small fans. Puree the rest of the avocado.
2. Dice 8 prawns and mix with the pureed avocado, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
3. Place the mixture on the spring roll skins and roll up into cornets.
4. Serve 3 cornets to a plate and garnish with lettuce leaves, avocado fans, prawns and julienned vegetables.

STT: Coconut Pepper Prawns with curry sauce

COCONUT PEPPER PRAWNS WITH CURRY SAUCE

Deep-fried prawns, served with sweet provocative curry sauce, make a spicy snake. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

12 large prawns, shelled except the tails

1 egg beaten

20gm flour

Mixture A

50gm grated coconut

50gm breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons green peppercorns, chopped

Method

1. Coat the prawns with flour.

2. Dip the flour-coated prawns into the egg and then into mixture A. Deep fry.

3. Serve with curry sauce.

CURRY SAUCE

Cooking oil

1 medium size onion, chopped

1/4 apple, chopped

Mixture B

1 teaspoon curry powder

3 cardamons, crushed

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon white peppercorns, crushed

2 star anise

2cm cinnamon stick

50ml pineapple juice

250ml chicken stock

Method

1. Heat some cooking oil in a frying pan and saute the onion. Add the apple and fry together for a while.

2. Add mixture B and fry until fragrant.

3. Pour in the pineapple juice and chicken stock and cook till the apple and the onion are soft.

4. Liquidise and strain.

STT: Chicken Salad with coconut dressing

CHICKEN SALAD WITH COCONUT DRESSING
This tropical fruit and meat salad should be quite delightful for those looking for a nutritious low-calorie one-dish meal. Serves 4.

Ingredients
300gm boiled chicken, cut into cubes
80gm cubed pineapple (fresh or canned)
20gm raisins
30gm roasted cashew nuts
1 teaspoon red peppercorns
2 tablespoons green peppercorns, chopped

DRESSING
60ml coconut juice
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons salad oil

Method
1. Pour coconut juice in a pan, bring to boil and reduce to 1/3.
2. Remove from heat and let it cool.
3. Add lime juice and slowly whisk in the salad oil.
4. In a bowl, mix boiled chicken with pineapple cubes, raisins, cashew nuts, red peppercorns and chopped green peppercorns.
5. Add in coconut dressing.
6. Serve with papayas.

STT: Cucumber Salad

CUCUMBER SALAD

A simple salad you can serve with meat or seafood dishes.

Ingredients

2 cucumbers

100gm sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

a few white peppercorns, crushed

Method

1. Cut the cucumbers into four halves and take out the seeds.

2. Peel and shred two halves of the cucumber and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

3. Leave it to drain.

4. Place mixture in the remaining two halves to make 'cucumber boats'.